How a family photo helped to capture Stockport knife attacker

A man who was on the run from the police for attacking a dog walker with a knife has been jailed after being spotted in the background of a family photograph.

Paul Norton, a dad from Reddish, Stockport, was randomly attacked with a knife while walking his dog through Reddish Vale Country Park on May 24th last year. 

Norton’s attacker first grabbed his dog before turning on him, slashing him across his arm and face with a knife.

The police were immediately notified of the attack, but the wanted man was able to escape after wading through a nearby river.

David Dixon / Geograph

However, the wanted man was actually spotted by passer-by Hayley Gibson, who was taking a family photo in the park and captured him running from officers in the background.

She later saw a post on Facebook about the incident, before submitting the photograph to Greater Manchester Police.

With the help of the photograph and an identity parade a few months later, Norton was able to identify his attacker as Christopher Anthony Howe, who was homeless in the area at the time.

And this week, over a year on, Howe has been jailed for the terrifying attack.

Crown Prosecution Service North West

He had initially pleaded not guilty to wounding with intent, unlawful wounding and carrying a knife in the park – the jury acquitted Howe of wounding with intent, but found him guilty of unlawful wounding by a 10-2 majority, while finding him guilty of possession of a knife by an 11-1 majority.

Judge Recorder David O’Mahony said that Howe had twenty-six convictions for forty-six offences, some of which were for violence, and he had a previous record for possession of a knife.

Prosecuting, Wayne Jackson read a personal statement from Norton, in which he said his children were now too scared to go out on to the park – even though it is just thirty seconds from their house.

“I haven’t slept since the attack,” Mr Norton said in the statement. “The attack came out of nowhere which makes it more difficult to cope.”

Howe was sentenced to eighteen months in prison for possession of a knife and six months for unlawful wounding, with the two sentences to run concurrently for a total of eighteen months.